Holidays
by eridansscarvves
Summary: In which, the four survivors celebrate the holidays together. Will contain shipping. And zombies. M for chapter three.
1. Christmas Eve

Hello, and welcome to my first Left 4 Dead 2 fanfiction! Glad to be here!

I bought the game a few months ago and slowly got addicted to it. It's just so fun to play! And because I love the characters, I eventually started shipping Nick and Ellis...because that's what I do.

Anyway, I'm starting a small series of holiday fics, and building up a little relationship between these two. I started this one last night, and finished it today. I'll update this a lot, because I love writing about Nick and Ellis. They're fun to write about.

Anyway, first chapter! Christmas Eve!

Valve owns all the setting, zombies and characters. I just ship them

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><p>"Safe house, right ahead!" Rochelle shouted, as she put a bullet in another zombie's head.<p>

Nick couldn't be happier to hear those words. Battling off a hoard wasn't exactly his ideal way of spending Christmas Eve, especially during a cold winter evening.

Damn it, the weather was cold.

It had started snowing not more than a week ago, and clearly it stuck. Sure, the snow slowed down the zombies, but it slowed all the survivors down too. After fighting them for more than three months, Nick learned that the whole zombie business was getting old fast.

"Come on, ya'll, let's get inside!" Ellis yelled as he ran ahead. He'd been complaining about the cold recently, and wanted to get somewhere where it was slightly warmer, even if he had to start a fire.

"I'll get the last few." Nick offers, looking towards Coach and Rochelle. "You guys get inside."

"Why so generous, Nick?" Coach asked with a tired chuckle. "Normally you're the first inside..."

"'Tis the season." He replied with a smirk. The other two survivors ran into the safe house as the conman killed the last few zombies of the hoard. When he finished, he quickly followed the rest of his team, and shut the safe room door.

"Someone help me get a fire started." Ellis said, dumping his weapons against a sofa. The house had a fireplace against one of the walls, opposite a large telly, which probably didn't work, unless the house had a generator. The other's put their weapons down and Coach helped the hick with the fire.

"Holy hell, it's cold outside." Nick said with a small groan. "I thought zombies couldn't survive in the snow."

"You've clearly been watching too many movies." Rochelle said with a chuckle, taking her pain pills and sitting down on the red sofa, watching the other two start the fire.

"These are infected, Nick." Coach said, looking up from lighting the fire. "They're more human than zombies. They can survive better. Sure, the snow slows 'em down, but it don't stop 'em."

"Fan-fucking-tastic..." He said, going up the stairs to see if there's anything worth looting. "If anyone needs me, I'll be upstairs."

There are two bedrooms and a bathroom on the second floor, and Nick decides to set up camp in the couple's bedroom. There's hardly any sign of the apocalypse in the house, which is nice. He's only reminded by the screams outside, and the constant darkness. He sat down against the bed, looking at the door way, alone with his thoughts.

How did he get from being a big shot in Las Vegas to desperately fighting for his life in the space of three months? Whatever God he believed him must not like him all that much. He groaned and tipped his head against the bed, wishing he had some cigarettes or vodka.

"Um...Nick?" Ellis looked into the room where Nick was moping. "Ya came up here pretty quick...Ya alright, man?" Nick let out a long sigh, and removed his face from his hands to look over at the innocent hick. "We got the fire up and running...'s warm downstairs, and I'm sure you're as cold as the rest of us."

"The other's send you up to check on me?" He asked, his voice dull. Ellis nodded his head quickly.

"Yeah, they were worried about you...what's wrong?" The hick asked, stepping into the room and looking down on the conman.

"Ellis, it's Christmas Eve..." He said with a frown. "I didn't exactly imagine spending the holidays running for my life and shooting zombies." Ellis frowns lightly, and sits next to him, his legs crossed.

"Yeah, I know what ya mean. It feels weird not being around my Ma, and Keith, and my family. Man, I loved Christmas when I was younger. Me and my brothers would open our presents super early in the morning, and then go play in the snow for hours...Ma would always cook a huge dinner for all of us, and the leftovers would last us weeks!" He chuckled sadly, and looked down at his crossed legs. "Man, I'd give anything for one of Ma's dinners now..."

"That's how you celebrated Christmas, huh?" Nick asked, with a raised eyebrow.

"Mmhmm! S'all ya need, really! Family and friends..." He said, with a sad smile "Can't believe I'm never gonna have a Christmas like that again, though."

Ever since learning about what Ellis had gone through before they met, the conman's viewpoint of the hick had changed. Instead of resentment towards him for his constant Keith stories, he respected him for being able to talk about someone who had been very close to him without bursting into tears. He became less irritating, and more endearing, like he was a confused kid who hadn't quite come to terms with what was going on. Nick hoped that he never would. He couldn't imagine Ellis being pessimistic.

He turned to the hick, a subtle smile on his face. "Hey...we'll have a good Christmas either way. It'll just be the four of us and just have a day off from killing zombies. "

"Yeah?" Ellis asked, a smile growing on his face.

"Yeah...and maybe the zombies will fuck off to celebrate somewhere else, and leave us to it. Besides, you guys are closer than any family I ever had...I'd be honoured to spend Christmas with you guys."

Ellis looked up at the older man, and Nick saw the happiness blooming in his eyes. "Ya really mean that, Nick?" The conman nodded. "That's a mighty kind thing to say, Nick...mighty kind." He said, with a light grin.

"Yeah, just don't tell either of them I said that." He said with a chuckle "They'll never let me live it down." Ellis laughs, and smiles warmly at the other man.

"Oh! I, uh, got you a present..." He said, as he took a small package, wrapped in newspaper and string from his coverall pocket. "I was hiding it for a while too."

"Oh Ellis...you really didn't have to do that..."

"It's nothin' fancy." He said, pressing the package into the conman's hands. "It's just something I found that I thought you'd like..." He smiled as Nick tore the paper from the package, to reveal a small, unopened carton of cigarettes, and a lighter filled with newly replaced lighter fluid. "Found 'em in a gas station a few days ago." Ellis says quietly. "And you're always complaining about not having any...so, there."

Nick smiled, and put the cigarettes down on the floor, to wrap his arms around the younger male in a close hug. "Thanks El...it really means a lot..."

"That's what friends are for, buddy..." The hick says through a large grin, hugging the other male back. It was a hug too long and too personal to be a friendly hug between two men, but neither of them cared. They just relished in each other's company.

Merry Christmas, Nick..." Ellis whispers through a warm smile. Nick smiles lightly, feeling content and happy for the first time in years.

"Merry Christmas, Overalls..."

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><p>Quick heads up, this is set after The Parish. Let's just say CEDA fucked up again.<p>

Christmas Day is next! That'll be up either tomorrow or later today.


	2. Christmas Day

And now, we have Christmas! Nothing M Rated yet, but not long to wait. I'm saving M for New Year's Eve.

I've noticed that Nick might be a little OOC, but I've never liked fanfics that make him out to be an asshole. He actually gets nicer as the game goes on, and he does like the other survivors. I just...buh, I imagine him to be a bit of a prick at times, but when he gets on with someone, they're total bros.

I listened to a lot of Psychedelic Furs and The Smiths while working on this chapter. I honestly love that kind of music, so I kinda made Nick like it too. Ellis is clearly a heavy rock guy, but Nick gives off the impression of liking the slow, calm kind of rock.

I still own nothing but the writing. Cus believe me, if I owned L4D, I wouldn't have Ellis get that crush on Zoey...god damn it.

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><p>The first time Nick woke up with Ellis in his arms was on Christmas morning.<p>

He was always a light sleeper, and was startled out of a fairly good night's sleep when a retarded hunter decided to leap at the safe room door downstairs. It's shrieking and growls were cut by a quick bullet though, which made Nick assume that Coach and Rochelle had just taken their shifts of watch that night. He appreciated that.

Ellis was still asleep in his arms, his chest slowly rising up and down. Nick didn't remember them moving up to the bed, but he was aware that nothing had happened last night, considering they were both fully dressed. He smirked lightly at himself as he watched Ellis sleep.

Nick was always one to appreciate beauty, even before the apocalypse, be it in a man or a woman. He was well known in his area of work for never being fussy when it came to sexual partners. He was happy going back to a hotel room with either a man or a woman (or both) and happy to send them away the next morning. That's how Las Vegas worked. But he always liked the pretty ones. He didn't mind about women preferring the choice of materialistic beauty, it being easier to maintain than natural, but he liked the fact that men he slept with would maintain natural beauty. It wasn't as messy.

Ellis was certainly a natural beauty. He was a mechanic working in Savannah, so he was muscular and tanned after working under the sun for extended periods, and had a pretty face. It was a bit odd describing a man as pretty, but handsome wasn't the right word to describe him. He was a pretty boy. Prettier then lots of women that the conman had come across. He had nice eyes too, the clearest blue the conman had ever seen, and they always looked friendly and inviting.

Nick didn't want him to wake up yet. A few more minutes was all he needed though, he just wanted to memorize the hick's face, so he'd never forget it. He wasn't wearing that trucker cap either, so his light brown hair was tousled with sleep. It made him look very cute.

He was starting to wake up after ten minutes of the conman watching him, his eyes slowly opening to meet Nick's warm gaze.

"Morning Overalls..." He said, through his smirk. Ellis smiled a tired smile, letting out a tiny yawn.

"Mornin' Mr Gamblin' Man..." The hick wrapped his arms around the con man in a quick hug, before he sat up, and stretched his arms above his head. "We doin' anythin' today?"

"Don't think so. We're not in a hurry or anything." Nick said, getting out from under the duvet, and picking his jacket up from the floor.

"I s'pose..." He replied, scratching his head. He knew that he should probably get up and go downstairs to join the rest of the team, but for some reason, today was the day that he couldn't be bothered to do anything.

"Besides..." Nick started, pulling on his dirty and stained white jacket, and fixing the collar of his shirt. "It's Christmas. Why rush?" Ellis grinned like an excited kid and got up from the bed, retying his coveralls.

"Oh yeah, it is! I wonder if Coach and Ro are awake...they probably had a rough night, takin' our shifts and all..."

"They only lost a bit of sleep. We'll go on watch the rest of the morning so they can have a lie in or something." Nick said, leaving the bedroom and going down the stairs, Ellis following him closely. He looked over to the fireplace, as the fire has died by now. Coach was asleep against the wall, his rifle against his chest, while Rochelle was curled up on the sofa, a thin blanket covering her. Nick chuckled lightly, as he prodded the sleeping man with the tip of his foot. "C'mon, old man, get up."

"I'm not old..." Coach muttered, coming out of his sleepy state, rubbing his eyes. "What did you two do last night? We couldn't get you downstairs for love or money."

"Fell asleep early." Ellis said, shrugging his shoulders lightly before looking for the kitchen in the house. "Merry Christmas by the way, Coach!"

"Merry Christmas, boy..." Coach said with a tired laugh. "Man, I am beat! I took watch most of the evening, considering Ro fell asleep as quick as you two..."

"Go upstairs. There are two bedrooms up there, and one of the beds is likely to still be warm." Nick said with a hidden smirk. He helped Coach up to his feet and took his rifle. "Me and El will go on watch for the rest of the day."

"Much appreciated, Nick. Never knew you could be this generous." Coach said, smiling lightly.

"I'm in that kinda mood." The conman said with a shrug.

Coach went upstairs to sleep, and Nick decided not to wake Rochelle up. She was clearly comfortable where she was. "Get a gun, kid, we're going on watch!" Nick said loudly, picking up his sniper rifle, and reloading it.

"Kay!" Ellis shouted from the kitchen, sounding quite pleased with himself. "I think the house has a generator, man! The fridge still works and everythin'!"

"Fantastic news, El. Now let's go!" Ellis quickly left the kitchen, wiping his lips, making Nick assume he found something to eat in the kitchen. He picked up his gun from against the sofa and reloaded it while Nick opened the heavy safe room door. The two left the warmth of the safe house, and sat down on the frosty patio, guns at the ready.

The landscape was glistening with snow, and not a lot of infected. Any that were in the area ignored the two, clearly busy with infected business. The whole atmosphere was peaceful, and Nick liked it a lot. It was a nice change from all the frantic running that the four friends gone through for those three months.

"Did I ever tell you about the time we buried my buddy Keith in snow?" Nick mentally swore at himself, but listened to whatever story Ellis was going to tell. "It was me and his brothers, and he said that he'd be fine without protection, but o' course he wasn't. His dad had to get a snow shovel to bury him out! Then his mom took him to the emergency room, and he lost two of his fingers, it was so gross!" He chuckled at the memory, and Nick couldn't help but smile at the ridiculous story. It was most likely false, but if it kept Ellis happy telling Keith stories, he'd be more than happy to listen.

"Was Keith crazy or just retarded?" Nick asked with a smirk.

"Naw, Keith wasn't crazy. He was kinda smart too, just had really dumb ideas."

"No shit Sherlock..."

"Jesus, it's cold out..." Ellis said, shivering slightly, hugging himself. Nick turned his head to face the hick, an eyebrow raised.

"Well, we're heading further up North, it's going to get colder." He said, stating the obvious.

"I know...but I'm from Savannah. 'M not used to cold like this." The hick said, putting his gun down to rub his hands together.

"You're like a toddler..." Nick muttered, but took off his jacket, draping it around Ellis's shoulders. "There, happy now?" Ellis looked at Nick, looking a mixture of confused and bewildered, pulling the jacket slightly tighter around him.

"Are you giving me your jacket?" He asked, with a small and giddy smile.

"Hell no, that jacket cost me over a thousand dollars. I'm having it back when we get inside." Nick said gruffly, shooting a few of the zombies littered around the garden of the house. Ellis grinned like a little kid, and scooted a little closer to the conman.

"Good enough for me..." He says, leaning his head against the conman's shoulder, and Nick couldn't help but smile a little.

The two men stayed like this way for the rest of the day, not talking much, and not killing many zombies. The snow obviously warded them away.

Nick liked Ellis' company, even if he didn't talk much during that time. He would sometimes hum notes to a song, or mutter the lyrics under his breath, but there wasn't a lot of talking through those hours. Nick didn't mind though. There didn't need to be. They just needed to be close to each other.

"Boys, get your asses inside before you freeze!" Rochelle opened the heavt safe house door, sounding almost like a nagging mother. "We got a fire going and it's getting dark out. No need to stay on watch any longer." Ellis nodded lightly, and jumped quickly to his feet, doing as he was told.

"Yes ma'am!" He said with an enthusiastic smile and hurried into the house quickly, as Rochelle gave Nick a look.

"What?" He said, standing to his feet, questioning the look the woman was giving him.

"You're getting awfully close with Ellis, aren't you, Nick?" She asked with a discreet smile.

"He's less annoying then I first thought. That's it." Nick insisted, coming into the house, and dropping his rifle in the corner. He'd only used three reloads over the course of ten hours, which would be better on the ammo stash.

"Whatever you say, sweetie..." She said with an amused grin, shutting the door, and shutting the cold air away.

"We got anything decent for eats tonight?" Ellis asked from the floor. He had positioned himself in front of the fire, after putting Nick's jacket on the back of the sofa delicately, knowing how much the older man fussed over the damn thing. Ellis didn't understand it personally, considering it was already stained and dirty.

"Tomato soup and crackers." Rochelle said simply, with a small smile, sauntering back into the kitchen. "But it's warm this time, considering this place has a working generator."

"Better than nothing." Coach said, getting up from the sofa and following her, with an irritated huff. "TV's bust, with or without power though..."

"Damn, that sucks..." Ellis said, through a light frown. "I had this tradition with my family ever since I was a young'un. We'd watch It's A Wonderful Life after Christmas dinner. Ma would always weep buckets..." He chuckled sadly, and turned back to the fire. "Then again, wouldn't quite be the same now..." The conman frowned lightly, not liking the turn of pessimism.

"Hey El..." Nick said, placing a warm hand on the hick's shoulder. "You okay?" Ellis smiled lightly, and nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He said quietly. "Just miss...my old life is all." Nick hugged the younger male close, hoping it might make him a little happier.

"I get it, kid..." He said sadly. When he lets go, Ellis is smiling again, which makes his mission a success.

"C'mon boys. Your soup's gonna go cold." Rochelle called from the kitchen. Ellis stood to his feet and hurried to the kitchen, Nick following behind him reluctantly. The bowls of soup were steaming, showing that they had been heated up and the bowls did look very appetising. Ellis sat down opposite Rochelle, and Nick sat next to him, the legs of the chair scraping against the tiled floor. The four survivors ate their soup together, talking occasionally about their lives before the apocalypse, considering that was the normal dinner conversation topic.

"So, how did ya'll spend your Christmas holidays before this whole ordeal?" Coach asked, in between eating spoons of soup. "I'd spend it with my wife, and her sister's family. Didn't know her all that well, but she could cook a damn good turkey!" He said, clearly missing the food.

"I went to see my parents. Pretty generic." Rochelle said with a small smile. "My brothers would come down too, and we'd just have a dinner together. Very simple, but nice."

"Essentially the same as Ro." Nick said, as he took a bite of a cracker soaked in tomato. "My older sister would sometimes come down, if her husband let her. I always liked seeing her without him anyway." He chuckled, dipping the cracker into the bowl. "Total d-bag of a man."

"Aw, Christmas was awesome in my neighbourhood. My brothers and I would get up way early and open our presents, then play in the snow. Then there was dinner, and then a holiday movie or somethin'" Ellis said with a big grin. "I love Christmas. Just the best holiday."

"You're such a kid..." Nick said with a small laugh.

"You know it!" Ellis said, in full agreement.

They all finish their soup, and go back into the living room, Ellis going back to sitting on the floor in front of the fire. He must have been colder than the rest of them.

"We gonna get moving tomorrow?" Rochelle asked curiously, turning to Coach.

"Yeah. We'll cover more ground that way." He said with a light nod. "We're heading up North to the main camp. Apparently they have a vaccination for Carrier's now, but I'm not sure. No harm in it though."

"We still have three months of winter." Nick muttered, looking at the fire. "We'll be slow, but so will the Infected."

"That's the plan...get it all done while they're still slow." Coach said. "Anyway, we should all head upstairs." He stood to his feet and helped Rochelle up with a polite gesture. "Merry Christmas, folks...it's been a good day."

"Yeah, same to you, old man." The conman said with an amused smirk. The former coach shook his head with a smile, before going upstairs with Rochelle.

The other two men stay downstairs for a while, chatting between themselves. Nick decided that it would be a good time if he opened his pack of cigarettes, and decided to light his first one in three months. "I tell ya, Ellis." He said, tearing the plastic off of the pack and cracking the box open. "You are a God send for getting these for me." The hick turned to him, with a small smile on his face.

"Heh, it's nothing, man." He said, scratching the back of his head. "I wasn't gonna smoke 'em anyway so where's the harm in giving them to you?" Nick nodded his head in full agreement, and placed one between his lips, lit it, and took a long drag from it. He inhales quickly, and then exhales the smoke into the air, with a pleasant sigh. "Though, I don't want you turning into a Smoker because of me..."

"I'd rather kill myself then be one of those ugly bastards." He said with a chuckle, as a bookcase caught his attention. There aren't many books though, mostly DVDs, games and CDs. He decided to investigate none the less.

"Yeah, Smoker's suck. I'd totally rather be a Hunter. They're awesome..." Ellis said, before pondering what he said. "Well, I'd rather not be a zombie at all actually..."

"Uh huh..." Nick muttered, taking another drag of the cigarette, clearly distracted by the CD collection of the pervious house owner, seeing if there was anything he recognized.

"I'd rather be a..." The hick said, deep in thought. "Werewolf or something like that! Now those guys are awesome! They don't take shit from nobody!"

"Oh god, they have it!" Nick said with a small grin, not in relation to whatever it was Ellis was talking about.

"Have what?" Ellis got up from his spot in front of the fire to see what Nick was so excited about, abandoning his previous thoughts on the supernatural.

"This is my favourite album of all time." He said, sliding one of the CD cases out. The cover shows four twenty-something looking men, and reads "The Sound of The Smiths".

"Who are they?" Ellis asked curiously.

"The Smiths, Ellis. Only the best band ever." He said, taking another drag of the cigarette, and looking at the back of the case. "These were my favourite band when I was younger."

"Bet they don't even compare to the Midnight Riders." The hick said, crossing his arms over his chest. "Nobody does."

"No, the Midnight Riders are like...mice compared to the Smiths. They're just amazing. These guys made the soundtrack to my teenage years."

"Hell, they must be like classical music then" He said with a cheeky grin.

"I'm not that old!" Nick said, clearly irritated. "Just listen to them. You can't be a rock fan without liking the Smiths." He finished his first cigarette, and flicked the butt into the fire, where it quickly burnt away. "If you have any taste at all, you will like them."

He then flicked the switch for the sound system, and put the disk into the slot, when power came to it. He skips past a few songs, before he's happy with what will be played. "Just listen..."

The song started playing a mixture of guitar and drums within seconds, and the vocals start quickly. The singer is English, Ellis assumed. Nick smiled slightly to himself, muttering the lyrics as they were sung while Ellis listened intently, clearly very concentrated.

"What's this one called?" He asked, after the first chorus is over.

"There is a light that never goes out." The other man replied, tapping a beat of four against the system. "Why, like it?"

"Yeah, it's good. A little bit slow for my tastes, but still good." He said with a nod.

"If it's true rock, it doesn't matter about the speed. It just the song, and the way it makes you feel." Ellis smiled slightly at this statement. He never knew that Nick could be this passionate about music. Maybe about his lifestyle, or his job, but never over something as trivial as music.

They listen to the rest of the album, the conman getting through the majority of his cigarettes, and the hick becoming more and more enthralled with the music before Nick stands to his feet, gesturing for Ellis to do the same.

"I've always wanted to dance to this song." He said, as Ellis stands up. "My ex wife never liked music like this, so I never got to do it at my wedding...so, would you like to dance with me, El?" Ellis smiled lightly and took his left hand in his right, stepping close to him.

"I'd be honoured, Nick..."

The first notes of the song start playing, and Nick pressed one of his hands just above Ellis' hip. "Put your left hand on my back, Overalls." Ellis did what he was told, and they danced slowly to the song.

The dance was simple, and just consisted of them shuffling a bit, but the sentiment, ad everything that Nick wanted was there. He was dancing to his favourite song with Ellis. That's all he needed to know.

"This is beautiful, Nick...what's it called?" Ellis said quietly, looking up at the older man. Nick smiled slightly, as they continued dancing, as the snow outside fell thickly.

"Asleep...this was always my favourite one...ever since I was sixteen...but this is the best it's been for me." The hick grinned lightly. The vocals sang quietly and smoothly behind the piano, and they both looked deep in each other's eyes, as if they were searching for something. "Better then the Riders, huh?" He whispered, with a small smirk.

"Yeah...way better." He muttered, feeling his cheeks go slightly red.

"Ellis?"

"Yeah, Nick?"

"How would you react if I kissed you, right now?" Nick questioned. Ellis looked up at the older man, to see if he was joking, and he could tell that he was actually deadly serious. The hick smiled, as the blush in his cheeks dimmed slightly.

"I'd kiss you back..." He whispered.

And with that, the conman leant down to lightly press his lips against the hicks, and he stays true to his word by kissing back. The song is the best possible backing track for something like this, as they keep dancing, their lips locked in the tender kiss. Ellis pulled away, as the song ended, and looked deep into the con man's eyes, his gaze filled with compassion.

"Nick...I feel infinite." He said with a dreamy smile. Nick nodded his head, pressing another kiss against his soft lips.

"Couldn't agree more..."

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><p>The song that they dance to is Asleep by The Smiths, and it's one of my favourite songs. It's utterly beautiful, trust me. If you want, go back and read the dancing section, while listening to the song. I just like the mental image.<p>

Next up, New Years Eve! In which we have something M rated!

Please review! I love getting reviews!


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